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Le macro-potentiel de la microfinance

Dec 17, 2013 Prashant Thakker

LONDON – L’essence de la microfinance est de fournir des services financiers à des personnes qui ne sont pas desservies – ou sont sous-servies – par le système bancaire formel. Grâce à des services financiers appropriés, accessibles et à prix juste, les gens peuvent construire leurs économies, couvrir les coûts de situations d'urgence imprévues et investir dans la santé, le logement et l'éducation de leur famille.

La Société financière internationale estime que la microfinance a atteint quelques 130 millions de personnes dans le monde entier au cours des 15 dernières années. Au cours de cette période, la microfinance a été saluée pour son potentiel à faire progresser l'inclusion financière et permettre aux gens de sortir de la pauvreté. Mais elle a aussi essuyé de vives critiques, certains prêteurs étant accusés de mercantilisme.

Malgré les écueils largement médiatisés de l'industrie, son potentiel d'amélioration de la vie des pauvres ne peut être ignoré. La question est maintenant de savoir comment faire en sorte que la microfinance devienne l'industrie dont le monde a besoin. A cet effet, trois mesures importantes doivent être prises.

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Mukesh Adenwala Dec 26, 2013

The essential question to ask is: Can finance be regulated successfully? All need for credit arises to smooth out the differences in cash flows. So far as micro-finance is concerned, poorer people need finance for various reasons like expenses required to be incurred on social customs, illness, etc. Also their cash flows are seasonal and not very robust. The mismatch in cash flows hence cannot have a viable solution. And it is this lack of viable solution that preempts regulation of micro-finance.
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Mr Econotarian Dec 23, 2013

Microfinance is not a solution. It is a symptom of an over-regulated banking sector, often state-owned, and typically one that does not face competition from foreign banks.

It is also something else. Studies of micro finance have identified micro finance as a tool for women to save money without it being raided by their husbands. They could save up for a purchase, but then their husband might find their money and drink or gamble it away. So instead they borrow the money for the purchase, then have to pay it back, or if they don't the shame falls on their husbands as well. If these women could open small personal bank a accounts, they would not need micro finance, but in some countries wives can't do that, or the stodgy bank sector can't even serve their community.

Also if a country has a pro-woman culture where women can become educated and have opportunities to work (in a legal formal sector), they are less likely to need micro finance. They will be making more money as well.
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Joaquín Saldain Dec 19, 2013

I agree with Mr. Thakker's approach. In particular, with his last comment. Financial inclusion is only one aspect of exclusion, and should be fostered jointly with other dimensions of exclusion. We should worry about avoiding negative effects like this one: http://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/some-unexpected-effects-microcredit-children-guest-post-pedro-aratanha
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Hugh Sinclair Dec 18, 2013

I applaud Mr. Thakker's suggestion that microfinance should be appropriate, accessible and fairly priced. Coming from someone as senior has Global head of Microfinance at Standard Chartered, with an obvious footprint in developing countries, this is encouraging. However, perhaps Mr. Thakker could explain how Standard Chartered managed to invest in the Nigerian microfinance institution LAPO while the MFI was charging interest rates of 126% to poor, mainly female clients? The bank was described as "illegal" in a number of rating reports, all of which were publicly available, due predominantly to capturing savings from the poor without a license. This was merely one of an extensive list of criticisms two seperate rating agencies reported over an extended period. When the New York Times investigated the bank and wrote a particularly critical piece on it, most investors pulled out of LAPO, including the darling of the sector, Kiva. Indeed, about the only positive thing the rating reports were able to conclude about LAPO was it's astonishng profitability, presumably related in part to the exploitatively high interest rates.

It seems only one of two possible explanations are possible here. Either Standard Chartered is prepared to turn a convenient blind eye to such practices if the financial upside is sufficient. Or their due diligence was sub-standard and they actually had no idea they were lending to such a questionable institution. I suspect the latter, as the deal was actually manged and guaranteed by Grameen Foundation USA.

There is a lot of debate currently about the effectiveness of microfinance, as Mr. Thankker aludes to. Some praise still remains, but for some reason this tends to emerge from people with direct interests in the sector recovering. I firmly agree with Mr. Thankker's suggestion for improved regulation of MFIs, but I have one remaining question: who is regulating Standard Chartered's activities in this sector, and what did they think of their investment in LAPO?
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